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Sales of Han Kang’s novel soar after Man Booker nomination

March 17, 2016
(Yonhap)

(Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Sales of “The Vegetarian,” a novel by South Korean author Han Kang, have soared since it was nominated for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, an online bookseller said Wednesday.

According to the Internet-based bookstore Aladin, the book was sold 12 times more from Thursday to Tuesday compared to a month ago.

The prize’s organizer announced on its website on Thursday that Han’s “Vegetarian,” translated by Deborah Smith, was among the 13 books contending for the 2016 prize. She has become the first Korean nominee for the prize.

“The sales began to gradually increase after the news came in that the book was favorably reviewed by the New York Times and other media in February,” an Aladin official said. “And then there was a huge increase in sales after it was nominated for the Man Booker Prize.”

Published in 2007 in South Korea, the novel is about a modern-day Korean woman haunted by violent dreams who becomes a vegetarian. But her family and husband, in shock and disbelief, try to change her mind in forceful ways.

Among the 13 nominees, six books will be shortlisted on April 14, and the winner will be announced on May 16.